What a month for things! Rhythm Tengoku came out and is amazingly fun. The Sony Ericsson k790a arrived last week, and it is really the phone of the current-future, review coming eventually. And Apple introduces all kinds of interesting iPod stuff (that Shuffle is blowing my mind).

Also today? The TiVo Series 3 HD DVR was released! Combining the already-killer TiVo experience with high-definition HDMI out and dual HDTV CableCARD recording (!), etc. etc. etc., it looks to be the end-all-be-all of DVR's. For now. The only downside?

It's $800 smackers.

Granted, you're getting a heck of a lot of technology for $800, and for early-adopter zombies like myself with credit cards it's a total no-brainer. But it's still $800 in the real world. Well, there's a bit more to the story that you may or may not find interesting, thanks to Best Buy. (Why does this stuff happen to me?)

The Message

So, I asked a Best Buy Guy last night about the Series 3, and he walked me over to their computer terminal, had trouble finding it, and did some kind of search on an internal message board (the screen was titled "RZONE"). Finally, he pulled up and read to me an internal message posted about two weeks ago, when an employee first noticed the Series 3 in the system.

The message (quickly committed by me to a voice memo, thanks k790a!) went almost exactly something like this:

"Did anybody else notice that the TiVo Series 3 popped up in the system? The retail is $800, and the cost is a little over $500... that makes for pretty good attachment!"

Of course, one can only imagine how accurate this information is — maybe Best Buy just does this stuff just to mess with me (HAY GUYS I SAW A SECRET SCREEN THERE IS AN EXCLUSIVE GARFIELD XBOX 360 COMIN OUT WITH HOLOGRAPHIC LASANGEA CAN U BLEIVE). Maybe this guy knows nothin'. But hey, we got nothin' better to go on, so let's talk!

1. If the cost is really "a little over $500", that's seems like good news for those experiencing sticker shock. I don't know a lot about retail, but it seems like that's $300 of wiggle room for future discounts or slashed prices. While I'm sure the Series 3's will stay at $800 for a few months, as us early adopters cry into our CableCARDS, at least we now know that there is lots of room for a price drop.

2. Second, to get retail nerdy: "good attachment"? Please, Best Buy employees, correct me if I'm wrong here (if you can legally do so), but "attachment" generally refers to the amount of profit made adding bonus items to a customer's sale. For every camera sold there are batteries, lenses, etc. to upsell. For every computer there are power strips, keyboards, etc. So, I guess this guy is saying, for every high-definition television sold, there is a potential $300 in "attachment" profit in selling that same customer a TiVo Series 3. (And attachment might equal employee bonus?)

How To Buy

Anyway, for those of you who can blissfully ignore little things like cost in the name of all hot new things, today's your day to buy a TiVo Series 3 now. HDTV awesomeness here we come!